What Does The Fox Say?
by The Arista
Summary: How do you save the day AND report on it at the end of it without anyone guessing your true identity? Alya thought that being a superheroine would be cool, but that was before she factored in the Ladyblog. Post Season 1 AU.
1. Chapter 1

**Authors Note:** _So this is something that I've had sitting in a notebook for a while - I actually wrote it BEFORE it was revealed that Alya would be Volpina. At the time, I hadn't expected Alya to get the Fox Miraculous, but I wanted to play with the thought of her having one and having to balance hero-ing AND the Ladyblog without getting suspicious, and the Fox seemed to suit her the best._

"Ladybug! Ladybug!" Alya rushed after the dotted superhero, phone in hand, poised to film. "Can I ask you a few questions before you go?"

Ladybug was about to throw her yo-yo, but she paused and turned back to face Alya, smiling.

"Oh, hey, you again. It's good to see you safe, Alya. What would you like to know?"

"That was another brilliant rescue by you and Cat Noir," Alya declared, after pressing the record button. "But I'd like to ask about Volpina. We haven't seen a sign of her since her debut two weeks ago."

Ladybug glanced down and fidgeted with her yo-yo. "Volpina was actually an akuma. You won't be seeing her again. Hopefully."

Alya rocked back on her heels in disappointment. "Oh. But she saved us from the meteor."

"An illusion, no doubt," Ladybug answered. "Illusion was her true power, not flight or strength. I - she tried to impress a boy she liked, and it didn't go very well. So, I'm sorry, but we won't be seeing Volpina again." Her earrings beeped. "And I'm afraid I have to go now. Perhaps you'll have a chance to ask more questions later."

Then she threw the yo-yo and flew away.

Alya frowned as she turned the video off and started walking home. Volpina had been merely another Akuma? As much as Alya was a fan of Ladybug and Can Noir, she'd been looking forward to seeing how a third member would affect their dynamic.

She'd have to call Marinette once she'd finished this post. Despite having very little interest in the pair of superheroes, Marinette always had interesting insights about them.

Her plan was to head to her computer and write a lengthy post, but her mother met her at the door.

"Your grandmother's here to see you. She's in the living room. Don't keep her waiting - you know how she is."

Alya frowned. Her grandmother was an uptight woman who liked everything just so. It wasn't often that she came by, especially lately as she was getting older, but she told the best stories. Alya got her creativity from her ... creativity that her mother warned might harm her potential career as a journalist.

She hurried to the living room.

"Ah, there you are. I figured it might be a while when I heard there was another Akuma," Grandmother announced as soon as Alya stepped in. "Some days, I'm not sure whether you're brave or just plain reckless. Still, I suppose that's just how you are."

Alya shifted her weight from one leg to the other, fidgeting with her phone. "Hello, Grandma. I'm sorry about keeping you waiting."

"No worries, child. How did the fight go? I've been watching it on the news, but I've not seen you update the Ladyblog yet."

"Ah, yes," said Alya. "I managed to catch a quick interview with Ladybug, and she told me some interesting news about Volpina. Apparently, she-"

"Was a mere imitation? Yes, that was an interesting turn of events." Grandmother leaned back, fingering her cane. "Of course, I knew the moment I saw her using illusions so freely. The _real_ Volpina could only use them once before she'd detransform. She's no different from Ladybug and Cat Noir - not as powerful, mind you, but no different."

Alya blinked and took a step forward. "Real Volpina? You're saying that there _is_ a real Volpina?"

"Was," Grandmother corrected. "She defended my hometown when I was a girl. My, but those were the days. Tell me, why were you so disappointed when you found out that she wasn't a true hero?"

"I was looking to seeing how their dynamic would change with a third member," Alya answered. "And ... I'd hoped that it might bring me closer to discovering Ladybug's and Cat Noir's true identities."

Grandmother tsked. "Alya, I've told you that you ought to drop that scheme. Ladybug and Cat Noir keep themselves secret for a reason, and revealing them could put them, yourself, and all of Paris in danger. Give it up and focus on making sure that Paris stays up to date on how amazing they are."

"But they have the _real_ news for that," Alya protested, glancing towards the television. "Don't you wish to know who's risking their lives for us on a daily basis?"

"I know that those young ones are brave, clever, and compassionate. That's all that matters." Grandmother stood, leaning heavily on her cane. She walked forward and laid a hand on Alya's shoulder. "Alya, child, they don't need recognition as themselves. Stop being nosy before we have a worse problem than Lady Wifi. Go write that blog post. I'm sure everyone needs to know for certain that they won't be seeing Volpina again."

With that, she hobbled out of the room. Alya sighed and headed to her bedroom.

It was more of a glorified closet, really, just big enough for a loft bed, her desk underneath, and her clothes. But at least she had it to herself, and quick access to a balcony.

She plopped down at the computer, pulled out the cord to connect her phone to transfer the file, and frowned when she saw a small, hexagonal box sitting in front of the keyboard.

Wondering who had put it there and why, Alya snapped the lid open. She was barely able to catch a glimpse of what looked like a fox's tail before a blinding ball of orange light exploded.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** _Yes, this is a multi-chapter fic. I have through the third already written in the notebook, though I'm not 100% sure where the story shall be going from there. And, even though Alya has been declared Volpina, I've decided to keep this fic as more AU. I'm not trying to predict the next season, just play with an idea and a few of my headcannons. Which is why I'm keeping the Fox Kwami's name as Calli, instead of changing it to the official Trixx. Trixx just strikes me as a cliche name for a fox so ... yeah. Calli is taken from the Latin "callidus" which means "clever._ _And, yes, I'm a huge fan of irony and I think that it'd be terribly funny if 90% of Lila's story is actually true. Just with Alya instead of Lila. So, yeah, that's why I went with the Grandmother._

Alya could only stare at the tiny orange creature that hovered over her desk. It was about the size of a mouse, but with a large, bushy tail that it had wrapped itself and tucked over its eyes. And it was _floating_.

Hesitantly, she poked it. It didn't feel like any animal that she'd ever touched before - not furry, feathery, or scaly. It didn't even feel like skin. It was incredibly soft, though, a rubbery softness, but not rubbery.

The creature shuddered, and the tail lifted to reveal a pointed nose and two long, drooping whiskers. "Have you finally come to beg forgiveness, Danielle? It's taken you long enough."

Alya considered screaming at the sound of that high-pitched, yet refined voice, but the desire only lasted a few moments. She _did_ live in a city where people could be possessed by butterflies and turned into supervillains. A talking, floating, orange mouse wasn't _too_ crazy.

"Danielle's my grandmother," she answered. "I'm Alya."

The tail finally lifted completely from the creature's face, revealing a pair of blinking brown eyes. "Oh, is that so?" the creature asked. "Can't say that I'm too surprised that Danielle would give me up like that. Unless - she's not..." The brown eyes widened, and the whiskers drooped piteously. "Did something happen to her?"

"She was still alive and well a few minutes ago," Alya hastily assured the orange mouse. "As far as I know, she didn't have a heart attack on the way down the stairs."

"Ah. Good for her. Danielle was a good girl for all her faults."

"What - what are you?" Alya asked. "A fairy or something?"

"That's an accurate description, but the proper term is kwami," the creature answered. "The Fox Kwami, to be accurate. The name is Calli."

"A Kwami?"

"We grant powers to people. I grant the power of Illusion."

"You grant - illusion. Do you mean that my _grandmother_ was the real Volpina?"

"If your grandmother was Danielle, then yes," Calli answered. "However, since it seems that she's giving me to you, it looks like _you'll_ be Volpina now. What did you mean by real?"

"I get to be Volpina?" Alya repeated, not hearing the question that Calli had asked. "Really? How?"

The little kwami rolled her eyes. "You won't be answering any questions until you have this out of your system, will you? Fine. Put the necklace on."

Alya glanced back down at the box. There was a necklace inside, a golden spiral for a pendant, like an upside-down question mark. She frowned. "Wasn't this a fox tail a few moments ago?"

"When I was inside it, sleeping, yes," Calli answered. "When I am not in it, it is golden like this. Now put it on."

Alya didn't need to be told a third time. The necklace was around her neck faster than she could type a text.

"Now what?" she asked, fingering the golden tail.

"First of all, a few rules," said Calli, half-closing her eyes. "As Volpina, you will have increased strength, speed, reflexes, and flexibility, as well as heightened senses, but your main power will be illusion, which is to be activated by playing your flute, your main weapon. Keep in mind that you'll have to picture the illusion in precise detail before you play, you can only use it once, and after using it, you'll have only five minutes before you turn back into Alya."

"That makes sense," Alya admitted, nodding. It was in line with what she knew of Ladybug and Cat Noir. "So now what?"

"Also," Calli continued, "Your identity must be kept a complete secret. For now, even from other miraculous holders."

"Other ... such as Ladybug and Cat Noir?"

"If we should happen to tangle with them, yes," Calli answered. "The necklace is your miraculous, the fox miraculous. To become Volpina, all you have to say is, "Tail on!"

"Tail on," Alya repeated.

The world exploded purple.


	3. Chapter 3

Alya was Volpina.

All she could do was stare at the mirror on the back of her bedroom door. At the fox ears sticking out of her hair. The mask. The flute that hung from her belt. At the _tail_ that hung from her belt.

Her costume wasn't all that different from the one that the Akumatized Volpina had worn. Her hair was different, of course - her own thick curls, just with stronger red highlights and whitened tips. Under the costume, it was still her own darker skin with a mole on her forehead. She was momentarily worried that that feature would give her away ... but then she noticed something else.

"No glasses," she whispered. And she could still see _perfectly_. Alya was severely nearsighted and wasn't used to being able to see more than five inches in front of her face without that pair of lenses.

"Alya!"

Alya flinched as she heard her younger sister call her name. She couldn't be seen like this.

Throwing open the sliding door, she dashed onto the balcony and bit her lip. She lived on the third floor. There was no way that she was going to get down. Unless...

She jumped - and went flying straight onto the roof. She landed a little ungracefully, but there was always room for practice. And now seemed as good a time as any to get just that. So she ran, jumping from roof to roof, grinning in delight.

The wind in her hair. The world flashing by - she cared not where she went. This was glorious. If it was what Ladybug and Cat Noir got to do every day ... what it looked like _she_ would get to do every day...

Suddenly, something wrapped around her ankle and she went flying out of control. The next moment, she was hanging upside down from a lamp post. Ladybug stood inches away from Alya's face, stern and angry.

"Just what do you think you're doing, Volpina?"

"Oh, Ladybug! I wasn't expecting you."

"Really?" Ladybug all-but rolled her eyes. "You're not purposefully running through Paris with the _intent_ of getting my attention so you can take my Miraculous. Like last time?"

"To be frank, M'Lady, I had thought it impossible for a person to be akumitized again if you cleansed the butterfly."

There was Cat Noir, standing right behind Ladybug.

"Apparently, it isn't," Ladybug answered, glancing over her shoulder at Cat Noir. "I don't know what set Lila off this time, though."

"Lila?" Alya repeated. "You mean, _she_ was the Akumatized Volpina? Ladybug, I'm not her. I - I'm the real one. See the necklace?"

Ladybug fingered fox tail charm, which had fallen in Alya's face. "Lila had bought herself an identical one, though, before she was akumatized."

"It must have been a replica," Alya answered. "Just like a lot of people have replica versions of your earrings, Ladybug. I'm not an Akuma. I'm not Lila - do I look like Lila?"

Cat Noir leaned in, staring intently at Alya's face. "She's right. Lila's eyes are different. You can let her down before her face turns as red as you, Ladybug. I know from experience that that isn't a comfortable position."

"I thought you liked it when I tied you up," said Ladybug, giving the yo-yo string a flick. Alya was barely able to catch herself as she came crashing down.

"It makes it hard for me to protect you," Cat Noir answered. "Otherwise - ow!"

The yo-yo had landed on his head. Alya giggled.

"So, you're not an Akuma," said Ladybug, ignoring her partner as she bent down to be at Alya's eye level. "No, you're not Lila, but your costume looks terrifyingly similar to what hers has been."

"Her ears are different, too," Cat Noir noted, picking up the flute that had fallen to the ground next to Alya. "And her flute. I like her flute better."

"This is the first time that I've been in costume, to be honest," said Alya. "I honestly don't know why I look like the other Volpina."

"Your first time, eh?" said Cat Noir, kneeling next to Ladybug and holding out the flute. "How convenient. Not trying to give the same story twice."

"Honest!" Alya cried, snatching the flute from his hand. "My grandmother was at my house when I got home from school today, and when she left, I found this box on my desk. Inside was this necklace, and inside the necklace was this fox creature called a kwami, and now I'm Volpina."

Ladybug and Cat Noir shared a glance.

"Well, she hasn't made any obvious grabs for our miraculouses," said Cat Noir.

"Neither did Lila until she blew her cover," Ladybug pointed out. "Still ... her story makes sense, and we're gathering an audience."

Alya glanced past the two heroes to see that Ladybug was quite correct. Cars had stopped, people were gathering, and a camera flashed..

"We need to find somewhere else to talk," Cat Noir declared.

 **Author note:** _So, I kinda fizzled out on this story when Alya actually DID get the fox miraculous and I was a bit disappointed in how that went down. Not that it doesn't make sense for the story that Tomas is telling, but ... not where I wanted it to go. So I've been waffling back and forth on whether or not I should continue this and ... why not? Just know that this is AU, and I'm only regarding the first season as canon. I'll be trying to work in elements of the subsequent stories, but I'll be crafting it in my own direction._

 _Also, I do apologize if these chapters are infrequent. Fan fiction is something I do to blow steam between writing my own books, and I don't often have time for it. I hope you follow along and enjoy the ride over here, though! I have some great plans for this story ._


End file.
